1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a hard disk drive with a connector assembly for connection between the hard disk drive and a computer system, and more particularly to a hard disk drive incorporating a connector assembly with simplified configurations and smaller weight.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various data storage devices are installed in electronic apparatus for communication and handling of data. Such devices include, for example, hard disk drives, floppy disk drives and Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) drives. As computers have evolved into more sophisticated computer systems with smaller dimensions and lighter weight, efforts have been directed at providing increasing amounts of data storage with smaller weight or physical dimensions.
Typically a hard disk drive contains a magnetic disk that is rotated by a spin motor. The drive unit also has a head that magnetizes and senses the magnetic field of the disk. The head is typically located at the end of an actuator arm which can move relative to the magnetic disk. The actuator arm, motor and other components of a typical disk drive are installed in a rectangular container and communicate with a circuit board of a hard disk drive mounted in the container for processing. The circuit board of the hard disk drive is connected with another circuit board by a hard disk drive connector assembly for communication and handling of data.
Referring to FIG. 6, a conventional connector 200 comprises an insulative housing 210, a row of first contacts 224, two rows of second contacts 226, and two rows of third contacts 228. The connector 200 is connected to a circuit board 240 via the contacts 224, 226 and 228 being soldered to the circuit board 240. The insulative housing 210 integrally forms a top wall 230, a bottom wall 232 and two side walls 234. However, the top wall 230, bottom wall 232 and two side walls 234, which are used for guiding mating connectors and protecting the contacts therein, complicate the configurations of the connector assembly. Moreover, they complicate the injection mold toolings and process, which add costs to the connector assembly or the hard disk drive. Furthermore, the extra processing of the additional top, bottom and side walls wastes raw materials and is not cost effective.
It is thus desirable to provide a hard disk drive with connector assembly with simplified configurations which overcomes the problems discussed above.